SPR 15-510: Collecting Taxes and Fees using the Observation System

Over the past few years Motor Carriers has invested heavily in camera systems at weigh stations. The pictures are integrated with Motor Carriers databases and will identify carriers that owe taxes, do not have the proper permits, etc. By the end of this calendar year 10 such systems will be deployed. Also by the end of the year the Office of Information Technology will have built a system to house the pictures taken and an interface to search the database. Motor Carriers is also proposing to obtain the pictures of trucks that will be used in the bridge tolling system across the Ohio River at Louisville. With these systems in place, Motor Carriers will have pictures of hundreds of thousands of trucks and thousands if not tens of thousands of violators. Motor Carriers would like to see a study done to estimate how much could be collected from the violators. Motor Carriers would also like to see some suggestions as to how we and/or Road Fund Audits should go about attempting to collect these funds. Are there any statutory restrictions? Can a ticket be written or only the permit fee or tax collected? What to do if they don't pay? Can an administrative fee be added? How many people would be necessary to successfully carry out the aforementioned functions? These are just a sample of what would be needed. The Division of Motor Carriers believes there is significant money that can be collected using the new Observation System that would benefit the Road Fund.